Musical Wanderer

Kylon Ren:  You made me play second base!

Recently the Republicans in the Senate blocked passage of a bill that would have banned sales of weapons to people on the No-Fly List.  My first response was incredulity:  how can they condone sales of weapons to people considered a threat to commit acts of mass murder?  But an arch-right friend, Ed, thought the constitutional right superseded it.  Well, apart from our difference of opinion on what constitutes the right to bear arms in a militia, though a thorough reading of the second amendment would justify owning all weapons, not just rifles and pistols , it got me thinking of the concept of rights and due process. The no-fly list is part of the delightful assortment of laws that the Patriot Act gave us, where we gave up liberties in the pursuit of security in the aftermath of the suicide bombings of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  Benjamin Franklin was probably not pleased.  A person can be placed on the list on suspicion of being a threat ...